


A Blip Like No other

by stackcats



Category: American Gods - Neil Gaiman, Torchwood
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-08
Updated: 2012-12-08
Packaged: 2017-11-20 15:02:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/586659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stackcats/pseuds/stackcats
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set after the end of Monarch of the Glen, in which Shadow comes to Britain. He finally works his way to Wales, where Torchwood notice him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Blip Like No other

It was getting dark in Cardiff city, and the thin drizzle that had dogged Shadow all the way from Scotland was starting up again, spreading a sheen across the tarmac and sending late night shoppers hurrying to their cars. He hadn’t found anywhere to stay yet, but that generally wasn’t a problem for him, even when it got late. The first hotel he tried tended to have one room left, a last minute cancellation, or an error in the system freeing up a bed for him, and his credit card, the balance on which was a mystery to him, never got declined. He tried not to think about it too much; it was just one of many things he had resigned himself to not understanding just yet.

Shadow wasn’t tired, hadn’t felt tired at all the last couple of weeks. His sleep was fractured and restless, and during the day all he wanted to do was walk, letting his body work and his mind relax. He went on several long rambles through England’s surprisingly monotonous countryside before arriving in London, where he took the traditional tourist routes past all the recognisable landmarks. Once he’d done all of those he set off on his own paths, a plastic coated map in his pocket just in case, but not especially caring where he ended up. London, after a couple of days, was too busy and crowded, and so he headed west, travelling by train, and eventually washed up in Cardiff.

There was a row of bars and restaurants up ahead, and Shadow steered towards them. He didn’t really mind the rain. The feel of it, cold and constant on his face, made him feel alive - or, at least, real. Sometimes, a little reminder didn’t hurt.

Shadow scanned the names of the little restaurants. There was a Chinese place called the Panda Garden, a little Indian place, and a fish and chip shop the proprietor of which probably thought he was being very witty in calling it Rick‘s Plaice, then beside it a traditional pub. On the corner of the road was a shiny new wine bar with Onyx above the door in blue neon letters. Shadow hesitated for a moment, then pushed open the door of the wine bar.

It was dark inside, but the undersides of the glass tables along the edges of the room were illuminated, and there were coloured lights behind the bar. Shadow eased his way through the crowd of young people - professionals, he guessed, relaxing after work, although some of them were going a little wild - and tried to find something he recognised amongst the bottles behind the bar.

Places like this were fine, but far too noisy when he was alone. Nevertheless, he got the distinct impression that something had drawn him in here. He was hungry, but he had walked past all those take away places and into Onyx, as though he was a regular here. A glance at the barmaid, who appeared from nowhere, only elevated his growing sense of… not unease, exactly, but awareness.

She was blonde, slim, and busty, and when she said “A bloke like you wants a beer” the local accent overwhelmed him, but she wasn’t what he’d call your average barmaid. Her main distinguishing feature was a small, almost cute, double row of horns jutting out of her forehead. She raised an eyebrow; he realised he was staring, and looked down, nodding.

“You,” she said, popping the cap on a bottle of Bud, “are definitely not from round here.”

“No,” he said. “Not even close.”

She smiled at him. “None of us are, sweetie. This is the place where the lost souls go. Look around you.”

Shadow looked. There was a blue-skinned woman eyeing him up from the dance floor, her eight-foot tall friend trying to persuade her to take something Shadow couldn’t see from her hand; a group of guys in suits near the DJ booth appeared to have small wings jutting out of slits in their shirts; One girl had far more legs than Shadow had ever seen on one creature - and Shadow had seen quite a few strange creatures in his time; and striding through the midst of them, perfectly normal and human in every single way but with an expression that said he saw things like this all the time, was a man in a big woollen military coat.

“Hiya, Cap’n!” said the barmaid, as the man approached. “Your usual?”

The newcomer nodded with a smile, and sat down on the stool next to Shadow. Shadow found himself unable to look away. It had been a long time since someone with such a heavy presence had sat close to him.

“Captain Jack Harkness, Torchwood.” A big hand was thrust towards him, and Shadow shook it. “And you are my elusive blip. Hello, blip. Can I get you something?”

The barmaid put Shadow’s beer on the bar, and a pint glass full of water next to it. The Captain paid, and turned back to Shadow; the barmaid leaned towards them both, and grinned impishly.

“Hey, Cap’n? if you want a third tonight, I'm off at one.”

Jack laughed. “No, not tonight. Well-” he glanced at Shadow, who felt a bit lost, then smiled and shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

The barmaid shrugged. “Shame,” she said, then bounced away to serve an ethereal, gas-like being that seemed, somehow, to be leaning on the other end of the bar.

Shadow took a long drink from his beer bottle. “You said I’m a blip. Why?”

“Because you are a blip,” said the Captain, matter-of-factly. “You’ve been driving Toshiko nuts all week. She tracked you entering Britain from northern Scotland, all the way through England, and when you finally turned up here, I said I’d keep an eye out for you. And here you are. Surprisingly man-shaped for such a big blip. What do they call you?”

“Shadow.”

“Nice to meet you, Shadow. Mind if I ask you a personal question?”

Shadow did mind, but he heard himself say, “Go ahead.”

“What are you, exactly? I mean, you look human, but so do most of these guys when they‘re out in broad daylight. Can‘t say we‘ve ever picked up anything like you on our readings before.”

“What readings?” said Shadow.

“We have a number of different scanners, some long range stuff we’ve salvaged from crash sites, some short range bits that we’ve put together ourselves. We at Torchwood are pretty handy. But we’ve never seen an energy signature quite like yours. I gotta know. What are you?”

Shadow found himself leaning closer to the Captain, despite the fact that nothing in the world could have persuaded him to trust the man. Jack Harkness had an aura around him that Shadow was almost certain nobody else in the bar could see. It wasn’t an aura of light, or spirit, but more like someone had painted the Captain with a thin patina of nothing. For a few millimetres from his body, there seemed to be nothing but void. Shadow had felt a tingle in his grip when they shook hands. He thought of the barmaid’s parting words - if you want a third - and shuddered. The thought of touching Captain Jack Harkness again, however handsome he might be, made Shadow’s blood run cold. But at the same time, there was something magnetic about the man.

“Do you believe in gods?” Shadow asked.

The Captain laughed, but there was something other than humour in the sound. “I guess I can kind of see where people get the idea from. There was a guy I used to know, and he… never mind. He was a long time ago. I don’t buy the idea of all-powerful, all-seeing creators, but some of the stuff I’ve seen makes it pretty hard to rule anything out.”

“There are gods, and they are real” said Shadow. He could hear in his own voice a certain tone, almost a talking-to-a-child sort of tone, as if he was telling Captain Jack Harkness that yes, if he puts his hand on the stove he will get burned. Funny how fast the weird stuff became the everyday stuff when you had to live with it.

“Huh,” said the Captain. He raised the glass of water to his lips, but he was clearly lost in thought. “And you’re a god, are you?”

“No,” said Shadow. “Well, yes. Maybe.”

“Well, you let me know if you ever figure it out. Meanwhile, I have to tell you that while you’re on British soil, Torchwood will be watching you. Nothing personal, just our job.”

“Watching my blip,” said Shadow. “Don’t worry, I’m going home soon.”

“Where’s home?”

“Chicago, I guess. How about you?”

Captain Jack looked at him sideways, then forced himself to smile. “Long way from here, kiddo. Long way from Chicago, too. But at the same time, not all that far. Maybe, if I ever get home again, we’ll invite you out for a spin.”

Shadow didn’t know what he was talking about, but he let Captain Jack, alien hunter, buy him another drink from the girl with the ridges on her forehead, and thought, we’re two guys not from round here, having a drink in a bar and trying not to make it obvious we’re staring at the waitress. That’s normal, completely and unmistakably normal.

He watched the weird and wonderful people dancing around each other, drinking, talking, laughing. Living. This was another piece of the puzzle, the solution to which is existence, and his mind filed it carefully away to be pored over later. It’ll all fit together one day; he didn’t so much know it as feel it. It was as certain as daylight, which really isn’t very certain at all.

Captain Jack’s hand accidentally brushed his as he picked up his glass of water, and there was that weird little static shock again, only this time he knew for definite that Jack wasn’t even aware of it himself. He also noticed that, this time, it really wasn’t so bad.

Jack caught his eye. “I’ve got some work to do,” he said. “But you say the word and I’ll put it off till morning.” His tone was unmistakable, and so was the foot that touched Shadow’s under the bar. Jack lifted an eyebrow; Shadow thought about it.

A little while later, they left.


End file.
